For over a decade, Kansas City had an NBA team.

It started in 1972 when Kansas City and Omaha shared the franchise previously known as the Cincinnati Royals. To avoid confusion with the Kansas City Royals MLB franchise, the NBA franchise was renamed the Kansas City-Omaha Kings.

The Kings split home games between Omaha and Kansas City. The Kings lost on opening night in Omaha to Wilt Chamberlain, Jerry West and the defending champion Los Angeles Lakers. For the first two seasons, the Kings played games in KC at Municipal Auditorium before moving to the brand new Kemper Arena in the 1974-75 season. Omaha hosted 12 to 15 games each season.

The Kansas City-Omaha Kings recorded a winning record in their third season, going 44-38 in 1974-75 and finishing second in the Midwest Division under 1975 NBA Coach of the Year Phil Johnson. Kansas City also got its first taste of playoff basketball but lost to the Chicago Bulls in the Western Conference semifinals.

The appeal of a brand-new arena nearly twice the size of Municipal brought the Kings to KC full-time in 1975-76.

The team’s second winning season came in 1978-79 when the team won its only division title with a 48-34 record. Again, they were led by the NBA Coach of the Year, Cotton Fitzsimmons. The Kings lost in the conference semifinals, this time to the Phoenix Suns.

Kansas City’s only deep postseason run came in 1981. As the No. 6 seed, the Kings beat the Portland Trail Blazers and Phoenix Suns before losing to the Houston Rockets in the conference finals. The Kings made the playoffs four times in the six years that Fitzsimmons led the team.

Kings attendance topped at an average of nearly 11,000 in 1978-79. As the 1980s came around, indoor soccer started to rule the winter months in KC. Averaging less than 7,000 fans a game, the Kings got crushed by the Comets’ attendance average of more than 11,500 in 1981-82.

Attendance rose back to over 9,000 in 1983-84. With the team’s lease on Kemper Arena expiring after the 1984-85 season, the Kings relocated to Sacramento in 1985-86.

Sam Lacey and Nate “Tiny” Archibald were two of the most dominant Kansas City Kings. Lacey was with the franchise from 1970 until 1981 and still leads the franchise in games played, blocks and rebounds.

Earning All-NBA first-team selections three times with the Kings, Archibald was the NBA leader in points and assists in 1973, averaging 34 points and 11.4 assists per game. Archibald is also the only King inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame.

Kansas City still awaits another shot at supporting an NBA franchise.